Sixteen ingredients and an hour, using two pans and the broiler.
Everything a shepherd's pie has is here, but the proportions are a soup's. The mash is spooned over the top in mounds and browned under the grill, in bowls that can take the heat.
Why This Recipe Works
- Browning the lamb first gets it to temperature and leaves its fat to cook the vegetables in.
- A minute of flour in the pan thickens the broth to a soup rather than a gravy.
- Cream added with the broth keeps the finished bowl pale, as the photograph shows.
- Worcestershire sauce gives the savoury depth a baked pie would get from its long bake.
- Peas added in the last three minutes stay bright green and whole.
How to Make It
Potatoes boiled and mashed with butter and warm milk
Boil the potatoes until tender, drain, and mash with the butter and warm milk.
Lamb browned until it reaches 160°F
Heat the olive oil in a soup pot. Brown the ground lamb with half the salt until it reaches 160°F.
Onion and carrot 5 minutes, then flour, broth and cream
Add the onion and carrot and cook 5 minutes. Add the garlic and flour, cook 1 minute, then stir in the broth, cream, Worcestershire and thyme.
Simmered 12 to 15 minutes, peas in for the last three
Simmer 12 to 15 minutes, adding the peas for the final 3 minutes.
Ladled into broiler-safe bowls, mash mounded and broiled
Ladle the soup into broiler-safe bowls. Spoon large mounds of mashed potato on top and broil briefly, until the mash has golden-brown patches. Serve carefully, because the bowls will be very hot.
A Pie Rebuilt as a Bowl
A shepherd's pie is filling under a browned potato crust. This soup keeps both halves and changes their proportions: the filling becomes a soup, and the crust becomes mounds of mash browned under the broiler. Each stage below covers its own run of the steps.
Stage 1 of 5
The mash, made first
Steps 1–1 of 5
1 1/2 lb YUKON GOLD POTATOES, PEELED AND CUBED, BOILED UNTIL TENDER, DRAINED and MASHED WITH 3 tbsp BUTTER and 1/3 cup WARM MILK. It waits while the soup is built, which is why it is made before anything else.
- Potatoes boiled and mashed with butter and warm milkBoil the potatoes until tender, drain, and mash with the butter and warm milk.
Stage 2 of 5
The lamb, to 160°F
Steps 2–2 of 5
1 lb GROUND LAMB browned in 1 tbsp OLIVE OIL with HALF of 1 tsp SALT UNTIL IT REACHES 160°F. Lamb is what makes it a shepherd's pie, and 160°F is the ground-meat standard that comes with it.
- Lamb browned until it reaches 160°FHeat the olive oil in a soup pot. Brown the ground lamb with half the salt until it reaches 160°F.
Stage 3 of 5
The base and the thickening
Steps 3–3 of 5
1 small diced ONION and 2 diced CARROTS FOR 5 MINUTES, then 2 MINCED GARLIC CLOVES and 3 tbsp FLOUR COOKED 1 MINUTE, then 4 cups LOW-SODIUM BEEF OR LAMB BROTH, 1/2 cup HEAVY CREAM, 1 tsp WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE and 1 tsp THYME LEAVES. The flour is what makes this a soup rather than a thin broth.
- Onion and carrot 5 minutes, then flour, broth and creamAdd the onion and carrot and cook 5 minutes. Add the garlic and flour, cook 1 minute, then stir in the broth, cream, Worcestershire and thyme.
Stage 4 of 5
The simmer, peas last
Steps 4–4 of 5
SIMMERED 12 TO 15 MINUTES, with 1 cup FROZEN PEAS ADDED FOR THE FINAL 3 MINUTES so they stay green and whole in the bowl.
- Simmered 12 to 15 minutes, peas in for the last threeSimmer 12 to 15 minutes, adding the peas for the final 3 minutes.
Stage 5 of 5
The broiler finish
Steps 5–5 of 5
LADLED INTO BROILER-SAFE BOWLS, with LARGE MOUNDS OF MASHED POTATO SPOONED ON TOP and BROILED BRIEFLY UNTIL THE MASH HAS GOLDEN-BROWN PATCHES. For safety: use only broiler-safe bowls, handle them as a burn hazard, and SERVE CAREFULLY BECAUSE THE BOWLS WILL BE VERY HOT. Finished with BLACK PEPPER and no cheese.
- Ladled into broiler-safe bowls, mash mounded and broiledLadle the soup into broiler-safe bowls. Spoon large mounds of mashed potato on top and broil briefly, until the mash has golden-brown patches. Serve carefully, because the bowls will be very hot.
Ingredient Notes
- Ground lamb
- One pound. Lamb is what carries the shepherd's-pie name.
- All-purpose flour
- Three tablespoons cooked into the meat and vegetables for a minute before the liquid goes in.
- Yukon Gold potatoes with butter and warm milk
- A pound and a half, mashed with three tablespoons of butter and a third of a cup of warm milk.
- Worcestershire sauce and thyme
- A teaspoon of each, stirred in with the broth and cream.
Success Tips
- Check that your bowls are broiler-safe before you ladle anything into them.
- Leave the mash in distinct mounds rather than spreading it, so the soup stays visible around it.
- Watch the broiler the whole time - the mash goes from pale to patched in a minute or two.
Serving Ideas
Five bowls of pale creamy lamb soup with carrot and peas, each crowned with broiled mounds of mashed potato, cracked black pepper and a sprig of thyme.
Frequently Asked Questions
Lamb or beef?
Lamb. That is what makes it a shepherd's pie rather than a cottage pie.
Can I use any bowls for the broiler step?
No. Only broiler-safe bowls, and they come out extremely hot, so handle them carefully.
Should I add cheese to the mash?
Not in this version. There is no cheese and no corn in the recipe.
